The Beginning of the End

Today is Palm Sunday – the beginning of what Christians call Holy Week.  It marks the beginning of the end for Jesus on this earth.

It is a celebration of the day that Jesus, along with His disciples, returned to Jerusalem.  There were a lot of people in Jerusalem at that time because of the upcoming important Jewish celebration of Passover.  As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, those people were filled with joy and anticipation of His arrival.  They had taken tree branches and laid them on His path – rejoicing in His presence there among them.  Only days later, He would be arrested, tried and crucified.  

Jesus came into Jerusalem that day already knowing exactly what was to come – everything that His future held.  Was He fearful?  Was He anxious?  I am certainly no Bible scholar, however, I personally believe He likely was.  I have read some writings where the author said that He was not – why?  They say because He had taught against fear, doubt and anxiety so therefore to feel those emotions would have been sinful.  Okay, I don’t personally believe just feeling emotions is sinful, so there’s that.  Jesus was a flesh and blood human – just like all of us; and, the Bible teaches that while He walked on this earth, He suffered everything that we could ever suffer, was tempted by everything that we could ever be tempted with – that is how He can be such a caring, compassionate savior.  So I say yes – He was likely at least a bit fearful and anxious.   

But, because He trusted His Father and had full confidence in Him & His eventual plan for mankind, He was willing to go through the horrendous suffering, all the way to the cross.  He was fully prepared to submit to the Father in order to fulfill the end plan – to give all of us a way to live, to die and to live again.

So, I choose to celebrate this day as a day of joy and anticipation.  A day that ultimately had me – and you –  in mind. The first chapter in the short story of resurrection!

Matthew 21:9 (TLB) “Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!”

Written by Karran Martin – April 5, 2020 – Revised March 22, 2024